Salemi disappointed after 24th in the Showdown
Irwindale, CA (11/12/05) Although, the Toyota All-Star Showdown weekend began on a high note, it was a long flight home for NASCAR Busch North Series driver John Salemi. John and team were excited to be in Southern California and had high hopes for the race. The weekend got off to a great start on Thursday afternoon and ended with a crash in the last 50-lap segment on Saturday night, handing Salemi a 24th place finish.
John and the #63 team made the trip to Irwindale on Wednesday afternoon and were ready to hit the track Thursday for the first of two practice sessions. “We were pretty good right off of the truck on Thursday,” recalls Salemi. “We made a couple of minor adjustments, but overall, we were close. “We didn’t get a clean lap during either practice session, so I knew we had a better car than it looked on the sheet,” said John. He ended Thursday on a high note and had a great feeling going into Friday’s practice and qualifying races.
The Nashua, NH driver used Friday’s quick practice session to scuff some tires and try to get a feel for what they were going to do under race conditions. After the 45-minute session, John was ready take the green in the second qualifying race from the inside of the third row. The qualifying races would determine the starting line up for the main event on Saturday. “My main goal for Friday night’s race was to finish without damage, so that I had something to run on Saturday night. It could have been terrible to come out here, wreck in that heat race and not be able to race in the Showdown. That was my biggest concern,” Salemi recalls. John was able to finish the qualifying race in 9th place, giving him an 18th starting position for the Showdown. The heat race was not run without incident for Salemi however; as he came out with some damage on the right front fender and on the nose. John and crew stayed late on Friday night and were able to enter the garage early on Saturday in order to get the #63 Pontiac ready for the main event later on that night. Unfortunately, the minor incident in the qualifying race was not the end of the damage for Salemi.
After starting the Showdown in 18th position, John quickly fell into line with the other cars and did his best to stay out of trouble. The first 100-lap segment was completed without incident, but the car was a handful for Salemi. At the ten-minute break, the team put on new tires and made an adjustment for John. “My goal was to be around for that last 50-lap dash to the finish and we accomplished that.
With about a minute and a half before the cars were set to hit the track for the second segment, crew member Darren Blundell noticed a piece of the suspension dangling under the car. Everyone scrambled to figure out what had broken on the car. As it turned out, a bolt had broken on a strut rod and was the cause of handling issues on the #63 grand prix. Crew chief Gary Faw quickly repaired the piece and sent John out to rejoin the field, just as it was passing down the front stretch. It was a suspenseful few minutes for Salemi, but he was able to continue the race.
The final segment of the Showdown was a 50-lap dash, where yellow laps were not counted. In last year’s event, this segment was full of cautions. “I figured that this year would be similar and hoped that I could stay out of the trouble and have a good finish. That was my game plan all season long, and the Showdown was no different,” John said.
On lap 125, two cars got together in front of Salemi and spun. With nowhere to go, John hit Andrew Lewis head on, causing extensive damage to the car. “We made it through the first couple of problems without getting caught, but we weren’t as lucky this time.” John brought the car to pit road to the attention of the crew. Under the following red flag, the crew surveyed the damage and got a plan together as to how to get Salemi back out. At first glance, it was mostly sheet metal damage. The fenders, nose and hood were cut away, once the yellow was displayed. John went back out in an attempt to complete the event, but quickly realized that something more serious was wrong with car. Upon even further inspection, the steering arm on the right side was broken and the tie rod had been bent, forcing Salemi to retire from the event.
“A 24th place finish was not what we were hoping for. We still had a great season and it was an honor to be invited out here. I want to say thanks to Toyota and Irwindale Speedway for putting on a great event. We’ll go home and get working on our 2006 program. Hopefully, I’ll be able to make the showdown next year and have a chance to improve.”
